Spouse visa without EEA member having job/accommodation yet?

[AlmaGitana]

Hello! I have read through an endless amount of webpages regarding UK visas, and on here 10 pages of posts - found many similar cases to mine but always there are little differences. I think my case should be one of the easiest, please help.

I am a German national and will get married to a Mexican in September, in Mexico. Afterwards I will go back to New Zealand (where I am a permanent resident) for 3 months, and we intend to meet in the UK end of December to live in Scotland (he can't come with me to NZ for those 3 months as he has a job contract to finish in Mexico).

To apply for a spouse visa however I would have to already live in the UK and be able to show job contract and rent contract? That would make things pretty hard as we don't want to be apart for more than those 3 months. The EEA family member visa would be easier to obtain but means he can't work, right? So that's not really an option, he needs to be able to work. Also I still would have to prove I already live and work there?

What would you suggest we do? If the hard facts are that yes we need to provide marriage cert + my job contract + my accommodation contract in order to get him the spouse visa and there is no way around it then please just confirm that. Other than the spouse visa though, what other visa can we get him that allows him to live and work with me in the UK, and what are the regulations?

Any help hugely appreciated, we gotta make our minds up what to go for...

[yankeegirl]

You won't be able to apply for the UK spouse visa as you have to have permanent residence in the UK before you can sponsor someone under the UK rules, if I remeber correctly.

However, your spouse can apply for the EEA Family Permit. It is valid for 6 months and he CAN work.

In response to your plans, you don't have to have a job prior to making the application; but, you either have to plan on accompanying your spouse to the UK, or be there first. He won't be able to go before you do.

Here's a link to some info about the family permit.

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front ... 5892134742

[AlmaGitana]

You won't be able to apply for the UK spouse visa as you have to have permanent residence in the UK before you can sponsor someone under the UK rules, if I remeber correctly.

However, your spouse can apply for the EEA Family Permit. It is valid for 6 months and he CAN work.

In response to your plans, you don't have to have a job prior to making the application; but, you either have to plan on accompanying your spouse to the UK, or be there first. He won't be able to go before you do.

Here's a link to some info about the family permit.

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front ... 5892134742

Thanks heaps for this info! This EEA Family Permit can be extended again and again without problems? Because reading through that page I understand it that I am only regarded as being a permanent resident when I have lived in the UK for 5 years myself?

[mym]

Thanks heaps for this info! This EEA Family Permit can be extended again and again without problems?

Yes.
And it's free.

The Spouse Visa costs 500 quid just to apply for it.

[yankeegirl]

The EEA family permit is valid for 6 months. Once in the UK and before the end of the 6 months, your spouse would then apply for a residence card, which is valid for 5 years. After that, permanent residence can be applied for. And, all EEA applications are indeed free.

[sakura]

You won't be able to apply for the UK spouse visa as you have to have permanent residence in the UK before you can sponsor someone under the UK rules, if I remeber correctly.

However, your spouse can apply for the EEA Family Permit. It is valid for 6 months and he CAN work.

In response to your plans, you don't have to have a job prior to making the application; but, you either have to plan on accompanying your spouse to the UK, or be there first. He won't be able to go before you do.

Here's a link to some info about the family permit.

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front ... 5892134742

Thanks heaps for this info! This EEA Family Permit can be extended again and again without problems? Because reading through that page I understand it that I am only regarded as being a permanent resident when I have lived in the UK for 5 years myself?

I dunno if you need further clarification, but;
1. as an EEA national (German), once you live in the UK for 5 consecutive years, you are considered a permanent resident (and can apply for a sticker to prove it, though it is free and you don't actually need to apply for one)
2. before that time you can't use the spouse visa route because you're not a permanent resident
3. you can apply (only) for the EEA family permit. Firstly, apply for the 6 month permit for your partner to come to the UK - this does allow him to work immediately
4. then before the 6 months is up, you apply for a residence permit for him, which is valid for 5 full years
5. after the five years is up, he applies for permanent residence, which is free
6. you can also apply for permanent residence, but as an EEA national, this is not a legal requirement
7. after your husband has been on permanent residence for 12 months, he applies for naturalisation to become a British Citizen (he'll need to pass a test for this one).
8. you can also apply for naturalisation after 12 months on permanent residence (after passing test), but you might be required to renounce your German citizenship.
I think you would have to be in the UK before him, or at least enter with him, before he can enter the UK. So you should look at sorting out the move.

[AlmaGitana]

A BIG BIG BIG THANK YOU to you all, you have been extremely helpful. You have put it all in words that are a lot easier to digest and follow than the stuff you find on the government pages etc. And I was so sure I read that with the EEA visa he won't be able to work, so thanks for clarifying that. After all the problems I read about on this board it seems to be almost TOO easy, lets hope all will go well! I'm happy!

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

It may make sense, if you both plan to move to the UK in the next 6 months, to apply now in Mexico for the EEA family permit.

Again to emphasize: the EEA family permit is what gets the non-EU into the country. And then, as soon as you are working, you should have the non-EU spouse apply for a Residence Card.

Note that neither the EU or the non-EU citizen is technically required to apply for a Residence Card or Permanent Residence Card. For the non-EU citizen it is useful because it means they can come and go as they want, and can prove to potentional employers that they have the right to work.